Al-Zaytun (also spelled Zeitoun or Harat az-Zaytoun; ar, الزيتون; Arabic translation: "the Quarter of Olive trees") is the southwestern and largest quarter of
Gaza's Old City.
[Sharon, 2009, p]
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/ref> Prior to the demolition of the Old City's walls, it was one of the three walled quarters of Gaza's Old City, the other two being al-Tuffah in the northeast and al-Daraj in the northwest. Omar Mukhtar Street Omar Mukhtar Street ( ar, شارع عمر المختار) is the main street of Gaza City, in the State of Palestine, running from Palestine Square to the Port of Gaza in the Rimal district, separating the Old City's al-Daraj and Zaytoun quarters. G ...
, Gaza City's main thoroughfare, separates al-Zaytun from al-Daraj.[Sharon, 2009, p]
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History
The northwestern part of al-Zaytun was known as "Dar al-Khudar" ("the Vegetable House"), which was a small subdivision that contained the open-air vegetable market known as "Suq al-Khudar". In 1525, Dar al-Khudar contained 43 households,[Cohen and Lewis, 1978, p. 117] and Nasara, close to the Church of Saint Porphyrius, had 82 households.[Cohen and Lewis, 1978, p. 119]
The Christian and Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish neighborhoods of Gaza were also a part of al-Zaytun. The 5th century Saint Porphryrius Church, belonging to the Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
denomination, is located in al-Zaytun and stands alongside the 14th century Kateb al-Welaya Mosque, with only two meters of space in between the former's bell tower and the latter's minaret. Adjacent to the church is the old Christian graveyard.al-Shamah Mosque
Al-Sham'ah Mosque or Bab ad-Darum Mosque is a historic mosque located in Hayy al-Najjarin (the Carpenters' Neighborhood) of the al-Zaytun Quarter in Gaza's Old City. Its name ''Sham'ah'' translates as "Candle," although the origin of the name is ...
.[Sharon, 2009, p]
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References
Bibliography
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External links
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 19
IAAWikimedia commons
Neighborhoods of Gaza City
{{Palestine-geo-stub